Research refutes AFL-CIO president's claim

Posted on January 28, 2014 at 10:35am

Fiscal Policy Director Michael LaFaive explained in The Grand Rapids Press today that a hike in the minimum wage would do more harm than good.

“Economically, it’s a very harmful policy that hurts more people than it helps and particularly the poorest among the lowest income, because owners can’t just eat the cost of this increase in the mandated minimum, so they’re going to choose the most productive among their existing employees to keep,” he said.

Michigan AFL-CIO President Karla Swift claimed that many minimum wage earners “are the bread winners for their family,” according to The Press. The facts show otherwise. As LaFaive has noted, according to the Employment Policies Institute some 42 percent of minimum wage earners in Michigan who would be impacted by an increase still live with their parents or other relatives, and the average family income of these earners is almost $57,000.

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For more information about the Center’s expert analysis and commentary on the minimum wage, see here.

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